“In an ocean of much needed books on health, I’m so glad I’ve got Dr Emily’s Genius Gut. As a fellow ex private chef, I love how she writes practically and deliciously on food. And as someone who is also always trying to offer suggestions to busy people, I adore the clever BGBGs menu planning reminder - you’ll have to buy the book to find out what that is!” - ”
“The gut is the gateway to the brain - and this is the go-to guide. This brilliant book goes into the details of how and what to eat to empower your gut to boost your mood, mental health, resilience to stress and access to intuition.
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Genius Gut
The Life-Changing Science of Eating for Your Second Brain
By Dr Emily Leeming
Penguin Michael Joseph | 25th July 2024 | Trade paperback | £18.99
10 New Gut-Brain Hacks to Revolutionise Your Energy, Mood and Brainpower
Ever experienced ‘gut feelings’ or ‘butterflies in your stomach’? Turns out there’s real science behind them. Your gut isn’t just a digestive system, it’s a powerhouse - your second brain.
In new book Genius Gut, microbiome scientist and registered dietitian Dr Emily Leeming explains the ground-breaking new evidence on the relationship between food and mood, unveiling the powerful gut-brain connection…and exciting new links to your gut bacteria.
Understand how the food you eat and the habits surrounding it can elevate your mood, sharpen your focus, and make you feel amazing through the Genius Gut method.
Say goodbye to food-related stress. No more cutting out foods, feeling hungry, or worrying about what you ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ eat. Genius Gut cuts through the nutritional noise to get you to achieve a healthy balance - without restriction and with plenty of science-backed tips.
Dr Emily has translated complex science into 10 actionable gut-brain hacks to boost your health, mood, and brainpower. Packed with ready-to-go tips and expert advice, Genius Gut is your ultimate ally for everyday gut (and brain) health that will make the world of difference.
“An essential and refreshing read.”
“Apart from being an exceptional academic, Emily’s talent and passion for disseminating the science into digestible nuggets is second to none. I devoured this book.
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“Dr Emily Leeming masterfully distils emerging and complex science into easy and actionable reading, dispelling common myths along the way. Everyone should own a copy!”
“This truly is a gut health bible. Emily’s storytelling in this book about the gut breaks down everything you need to know into easily digestible tips, tricks, and recommendations, delving into the science to separate facts from fads. It’s a comprehensive go-to guide for anyone looking to improve their gut health with no-nonsense advice, all backed by science.”
“With so much conflicting health advice out there, this book stands out as a beacon of clarity. Emily expertly debunks common health myths, simply explains complex ideas and tells you exactly how to use food to boost your mood, health and brainpower! A definitive guide!”
“Genius Gut demystifies the science of gut-brain signalling and offers a wealth of practical solutions for individuals hoping to increase their overall wellbeing”
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Dr Emily Leeming PhD MSc RD is a microbiome scientist, registered dietitian, and chef. She is a Research Fellow at King’s College London. Dr Emily writes for The Daily Mail and frequently appears in media outlets such as BBC Radio 4, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian. She authors the popular weekly Substack newsletter Second Brain and regularly gives talks, translating new research findings into actionable everyday advice. Genius Gut is her first book.
www.emilyleeming.com
Substack newsletter - Second Brain
Instagram - @dremilyleeming
Dr Emily Leeming - Credit: Breeana Dunbar
Tips, stats and hacks…
Your gut microbiome influences every aspect of your health and has the capacity to signal to your brain influencing your mood and how well you think.
Your thoughts and moods can influence the biology of the rest of your body.
Children - Scientists have been able to predict whether a two-year-old child is likely to have early symptoms of anxiousness if the mum had a less diverse gut microbiome during her third trimester. In the microbiome of children from two months to ten years old, differences in gut bacteria have been related to both how well they think and the size of multiple parts of the brain.
Your gut bacteria are a key factor in healthy ageing, and they influence your immune systems response, for better or worse.
Male Bias - only 0.5% of neuroscience research is female focussed, and 2% of all medical research.
Sex hormones influence your microbiome and vice versa – for women when your oestrogen levels are high your microbiome tends to be more diverse, with lower diversity of bacteria in menopause and later life.
Research shows that antibiotic use is linked to early puberty in girls, but not boys.
Menopause - Women in Asia tend to experience fewer menopause symptoms than Western women, and this could be down to their gut microbiome.
Neurodiversity and gut microbiome - we don’t yet know if ADHD and Autism are partly caused by the gut microbiome, but research does highlight that the microbiome might be relevant in ADHD and Autism.
Importance of fibre – if starved of fibre bacteria chew through our inner lining of mucus to reach our skin cells, triggering a red alert to our immune system. Our gut-barrier lining becomes inflamed, damaged, and susceptible to ‘bad’ bacteria leaking from the gut into our circulation. The connection between fibre and your health is powerful - it’s linked to a 30 per cent lower risk of death.
The science behind current advice to eat '30 plants a week for your gut microbiome' is surprisingly weak - it's based on one small part of a large study. It's not the new '5 a day' it's being proclaimed to be, but diversity in your diet is still important. You can eat more diverse for your gut bacteria by thinking of 5 colours of fruit and veg and the BGBGs, rather than stressing about hitting the 30 plants a week target that can be expensive and cause food waste.
Air pollution has been shown to change the make-up of the gut microbiome to produce dangerous metabolites, disrupting the gut barrier lining and triggering excess inflammation. Air pollution can also be linked to behavioural changes, mental health issues and neurodegenerative diseases.
Loneliness is a huge problem for our gut microbiome - we get new bacteria into our gut microbiome from those we interact with - sharing bacteria back and forth when we hug, shake hands and kiss. Those who are lonely tend to have lower diversity of gut bacteria, often linked with poor health.
Certain gut bacteria are thought to be involved in the release of oxytocin, potentially influencing how social you are. Human studies have found links between gut bacteria and personality traits like how conscientious you are and how much empathy you have.
Your gut bacteria influence how your body makes your ‘happy' hormone serotonin, and your reward neurotransmitter dopamine - influencing your mood, motivation, and behaviour.
IBS - There’s a clear link between the gut and the brain in IBS. Stress often triggers symptoms: 38% of people with IBS have anxiety, and over 27% have depression.
Non-diet strategies targeting the gut-brain connection, like gut-directed hypnotherapy and · yoga have also been shown to be just as effective for managing IBS symptoms as dietary treatment.
A number of studies have linked cognitive performance to your gut microbiome, in particular to your learning and memory in both health and disease - there’s early but convincing evidence that Parkinson’s disease begins in the gut not the brain.
A healthy balanced diet can significantly help with your mood and anxiety. The Mediterranean diet is also linked with being able to think faster and problem-solve better, and a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia. People who eat more fibre tend to perform far better in cognitive tests, involving memory and problem solving.
People experience low mood on a continuum towards depression. People with depression have a different gut microbiome and tend to have lower levels of short-chain fatty acids, special healthy molecules that are produced by the gut bacteria when you eat fibre, the roughage from plant foods.
Importance of nature - As little as ten minutes a day walking or sitting in nature is related to better mental well-being. Being outside is also an opportunity for your gut bacteria. One teaspoon of soil contains more microbes than there are humans in the world.
Habits - Small, easy changes are the secret to success. We have the power to rewire our own brains, forming new neural pathways by repeating actions over and over again until it becomes natural and easy.
Genius Gut Method Hacks
Make half your plate veggies
Veggies are bright, colourful, packed with flavour and textures; they also contain the double whammy of fibre and polyphenols, rocket fuel for your gut bacteria. They’re proven to make you happier too!
Having two or more servings of veggies a day is linked to having the cognitive age of someone five years younger in later life.
Go for the colourful 5
A more diverse gut microbiome is linked to better health, and for those with certain gut bacteria – with better emotional well-being.
Try mixed bags of stir fry veg; mixed bags of salad leaves; mixed frozen vegetables; frozen forest fruits; mixed bags of nuts and sees; cans of mixed beans…
Have your dinner early
Eating at regular times and early before bed (and ideally in an eating window of ten hours) can help in sleeping better at night, being less likely to feel hungry; and is linked to more energy, better mood, higher diversity of gut bacteria, better blood sugar and fat control, and improved blood pressure.
Oily fish twice a week
Regular fish eaters tend to have more grey matter in key brain regions like the hippocampus and pre-frontal cortex, linked with better cognitive function.
Bring on the fibre-protein breakfast
Breakfast is a prime opportunity to add in some fibre and polyphenols for your gut bacteria; it also seems to make us happier too. Make sure to add in protein too, keeping you feeling fuller and more energised for longer, and dramatically easing sweet and savoury cravings later in the day.Drink Up!
Two cups of coffee a day is related to better brain health and function than having no coffee or drinking decaf.
For copies and publicity enquiries please contact
Ella on ewatkins@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk or Emma on emma@emmafinniganpr.co.uk